Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic and her Macedonian counterpart Gjorge Ivanov spoke on the phone on Thursday about an incident that had occurred on the Macedonian-Greek border on Monday, when several hundred migrants attempted to cross the border into Macedonia and three drowned in a river, the Croatian President's Office said in a statement.

Ivanov described in detail how the migrants tried to enter Macedonia illegally across the green border and how three of them drowned in the attempt, stressing that the situation ended with a successful response without the use of force.

The two presidents agreed that all should be done to ensure that similar incidents did not happen again, and Ivanov requested political and logistical support from the European Union in border protection equipment and equipment for migrant registration. He also asked for access to databases so that non-EU countries could also exchange information on migrants.

Ivanov thanked the Croatian policemen deployed in Macedonia for their assistance, saying that Macedonia would continue to take the necessary measures to protect its border and national security and would ensure that migrants were treated humanely.

He said that Macedonia would continue to comply with decisions of the European Council and would follow developments in other countries along the migrant route, stressing that it would not allow illegal entries into the country.

Ivanov and Grabar-Kitarovic agreed that the migrant route through Southeast Europe must continue to be controlled in order to prevent any attempts to cross the border illegally. The two presidents stressed the importance of continuous communication and coordination, especially in the context of a forthcoming European Council meeting, in order to find a common European response to the migrant crisis.

Beirut (dpa) - Syrian government forces and their allies advanced deeper into the shrinking rebel-held enclave in eastern Aleppo on Wednesday, seizing the Old City, while demanding the armed opposition groups leave the area.